Penny For My Thoughts
by Nerdz-Will-Rule-The-World
Summary: ...Shane said with a look of complete horror on his face, "I will pay you a penny to never do that again." ...With a sly smile on her face, she grabbed the coin, "Do what again? Steal, tackle you, or kiss you?" "I don't know!" Shane said with his face very red. He reached into his pocket again and found two more pennies and shoved the coins at the girl. "There, one for each!"


The city was bustling and nobody noticed the girl standing in between two stales watching people walk by. She waited for the stale's owner to turn so that she could grab some bread. She almost slipped away unnoticed till a costumer yelled, alerting the shop keeper.

"HEY, THEIF! THEIF! SOMEONE STOP HER!"  
The girl stared to run away as guards ran over to investigate the situation. She ran past a corner until someone grabbed her hand and pulled her into an alleyway.

*~*SadExcuseForALine*~*

Shane grabbed the girl's hand as she came past the tiny alley and pulled her in, covering her mouth with his free hand. He held her like that in the shadows as the guards with huge, long swords passed, and their footsteps had faded away. With a sigh of relief he released the girl and looked her over. She looked to be about his age, maybe ten or eleven, with dark long hair that looked cut in several random places (but it made it all the more pretty), she had smudged skin, and a tattered dress and a pair of pants underneath, and was clutching a loaf of bread.

"What's your name?" Shane asked.

The girl studied him for a moment before deciding to respond, "Belle." She walked past him and further into the nook, felling the wall she opened a curtain that led to an old flight of stairs. She motioned for Shane to follow by waving her dirty hands.

"Why were those thugs chasing you?" Shane asked they climbed; he looked around at the grime and moss full walls. He shuddered as he heard something scuttle past his legs.

"I was getting dinner for me and my brother."

Shane paused and looked at the loaf of bread in her hand, "You mean that you stole the bread?"

Belle looked over her shoulder and grinned. "It's only stealing if you get caught." She threw open another curtain and stepped up onto a ledge that had a magnificent view of the palace. Belle watched the boy in interest as she sat down and broke off a piece of the bread, offering it to Shane. "Want some?"

Shane only stared at the bread in the girl, Belle's, grimy hand.

"You don't have to look so serious. Go on take it." Belle took a bite of her own piece as Shane accepted the offered food. He stared at it before taking a small bight of the bread.

"You look weird. You're not from around here, huh?"

"No. My Father's a General in the Japanese Military." He pointed at the palace. "He is over there right now to help negotiate with the Sultan and his guards." He said while pointing to the palace.

"You mean- your dad works with the Sultan's guard?"

"Yeah. He sort of is."

"So you're just going to turn me in for stealing, aren't you!" She looked scared as she looked at him with fear in her eyes.

"How am I going to feed my brother? He was hurt last time we tried to get something to eat! Do you know how hard it is to get money for food! And you're just going to turn me in!"

"What? No, I-"

But before he could finish, Belle launched herself at Shane. The two children were sent toppling back down the stairs, shouting and struggling the whole way. Belle was yelling at the boy for going to turn her in, and she was yelling sorry as they fell down. When they got to the bottom and Shane landed on his back with a grunt. Belle tumbled onto him a moment later and…

Shane looked up in shock at the girl who was on top of him with an equally shocked look on her face. For a long moment they just stared at each other unmoving, their minds clicking into place what had just happened. Shane acted first and dug his hand into his pocket and held up a coin in front of Belle's face.

Belle blinked. "Huh?"

Very seriously Shane said with a look of complete horror on his face, "I will pay you a penny to never do that again."

The girl sat up and looked at the coin. With a sly smile on her face, she grabbed the coin and she said, "Do what again? Steal, tackle you, or kiss you?"

"I don't know!" Shane said with his face very red. He reached into his pocket again and found two more pennies' and shoved the two coins at the girl. "There, one for each. Now get off me!"

Shane pushed the small girl off of him and took off down the alley, the sound of his footsteps echoing off of the alleyway.

"Hey, wait!" Belle called, "What's your name?"

"It's Shane!"

"Shane…" Watching the other boy disappear around the corner, Belle smiled and pocketed the three coins. She walked back up to the curtained room and hopped onto the balcony then onto another roof. Running and jumping across roofs, she made it to another tower like building and climbed into a window. As soon as she got all the way through she raced for the stairs. She reached for the pocket she had earlier put the bread into and pulled it out.  
"Raymond! Raymond! I got some bread! Are you decent? I hope you are, because I'm coming in!"

She hopped through the dark curtained room and onto the bed lying close to the door. Raymond smiled at his sister as she handed him the bread and he chomped down hungrily. He listened as she told him the story of what happened to her.

Raymond looked worried and told her not to try and find that boy again.

"Oh, but Raymond! He seems so nice! And he didn't try to turn me in though he knew what I had done."

"It doesn't matter Belle! He could have just given you a break! He is the son of a… a…"

"A General."

"A General! He could hurt you."

"Fine. I won't but if he tries and find me then I'll talk to him." She had a silly look on her face and Raymond couldn't help but laugh.

"I love you Belle, I don't want to see you get hurt. Okay?"

"I love you too, Ray. I love you too."

*~*SadExcuseForALine*~*

Belle looked down at the streets of Lermon where a young eastern man was marching towards the palace with a small set of troops following him. It had been several years since she had last seen him, but there was no mistaking that stupidly serious face. She watched him give orders to the men following behind him and they spilt up as he continued down the street they had first met. He looked at the vendors and stopped at the one selling bread. His serious face let up a little bit, but as soon as it happened it disappeared.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a penny. With a sly grin she flicked it into the air with her thumb and caught it expertly. "Sorry Shane, Sorry Raymond" she said. "Looks like I'm about to owe both of you a penny."

And Belle took off down the street, pushing past Shane to grab a piece of bread and darted. He stared in shock at the girl with Bells now tied expertly in her hair and a tattered dress as she ran past him laughing with bread in her hand.

"THEIF! THEIF! SOMEONE CATCH HER!"

Shane watched as she ducked behind a wall. He smiled slightly as her followed, ready to get his penny.


End file.
